How to keep track of udhaar without the awkwardness

Updated

Lending money to friends and family is part of life here, and so is forgetting who still owes what. A notebook works until it doesn't. Here's a simple way to keep udhaar straight, and how Jayb does it for personal money.

Treat a loan as money that's still yours

When you lend Rs 20,000 to a cousin, you haven't spent it: it's yours, with someone else. In Jayb, lending moves money from your account to that person, so your net worth doesn't drop and it never counts against a budget. Borrowing works the other way round.

One balance per person

  • Each person shows "owes you" or "you owe", with every loan and repayment behind it.
  • Record lend, borrow, got paid back and pay back from the add screen, or just tell Jayb AI: "I gave Ali 5,000".
  • On the first of each month, the bell lists who still owes you.

A reminder that doesn't feel rude

Remind on WhatsApp sends a polite message with the amount and the date, from your own WhatsApp, to their number if you've saved it. You can read it before it goes.

When it's forgiven

Not every loan comes back, and that's fine. Settle up lets you let go of some or all of what someone owes, or record that a debt was forgiven, without pretending a payment happened.

Khata apps or Jayb?

Khata apps like DigiKhata, CreditBook and Easy Khata are built for shops keeping a ledger of customers. Jayb is for your own money: udhaar sits next to your accounts, budgets and savings, so your whole picture is right.

Questions

Does lending money count as an expense?
Not in Jayb. Lending and borrowing move money between your account and a person, so they're never income or spending.
Can I remind someone without calling them?
Yes. Remind on WhatsApp writes a polite message with the amount and date, and sends it from your own WhatsApp.
Try Jayb free

Sources

What this article says about other apps comes from their own public pages, as they were on the day shown. Apps change: check the latest before you choose.

In Jayb